Business & Financial
Zynga May Partner in Online Gambling Venture
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) Chief Executive Mark Pincus said Wednesday he sees "mind blowing" possibilities for weaving real-money gambling into social games pending regulatory changes in the U.S., and suggested the company may partner with a traditional casino company before the end of this year.
Pincus, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, said his San Francisco-based company sees a great deal of opportunity "to start to bring this gambling element into more than just casino games."
Epic Failure: Epic Poker League Files for Chapter 11 Protection
There is no easy way to say this, but, at the end of the day yesterday, Federated Sports + Gaming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Our company needs a new start.
More Cake Online Poker Client Improvements Unveiled
Popular online poker network, the Cake Network has released an update to its 2.0 poker client with improvements in speed, stability, navigation and graphics.
Techdirt.com: Federal Agents Did Not Gamble on Bodog.com
An interesting argument was raised by a colleague of Gambling911.com Tuesday following the indictment of Bodog.com and four individuals connected to the company.
The US Attorneys Office in Maryland announced the indictment Tuesday immediately following the seizure of the Bodog.com domain.
Almost Paradise: Poker Site Sees Sharp 33 Percent Decline
Paradise Poker, once among the top three largest Internet card rooms in the world, witnessed a sharp decline in revenues of 33 percent in the first 6 months of its financial year to end January 2012.
The company, which is owned by sports betting powerhouse Sportingbet Plc, called the current poker market conditions “challenging”.
Poker makes up 6.0 percent of gross gaming revenue.
Sportingbet overall recorded a loss for the period.
Ayre Don’t Care: Bovada, Bodog Say Business as Usual
Following an indictment against Bodog founder Calvin Ayre Tuesday after a year’s long investigation into online sports betting, Ayre told his own self-named news website his life won’t be impacted.
Bodog, Calvin Ayre, et al. Indictment (Full Court Document)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :
v.
BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com, CALVIN AYRE, JAMES PHILIP,
DAVID FERGUSON, and DERRICK MALONEY,
Defendants.
: : CRIMINAL NO. : (Conducting gambling business, : 18 U.S.C. §1955; Money : laundering conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. : §1956(h); Aiding and : abetting, 18 U.S.C. §2; : Forfeiture, 18 U.S.C. : §§982(a)(1) and 1955(d)). :
...ooo0ooo... INDICTMENT COUNT ONE (Conducting gambling business)
Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre Indicted
Federal prosecutors in Baltimore on Tuesday unsealed an indictment against Calvin Ayre following the seizure of the Bodog.com domain name late Monday night. Ayre was profiled in the cover story of the Forbes Billionaire issue.
A press release was expected by the US Attorney’s Office out of Maryland shortly.
Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore, indicted Ayre and three other men, James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney. The company, Bodog Entertainment Group, is also under indictment and its domain name has been seized by federal prosecutors.
Bodog.com Domain Seizure ‘Dog’ Years in the Making
The sudden seizure of the Bodog.com domain name late Monday night was not so sudden, Gambling911.com can reveal, nor was it exactly easy to achieve.
The US Attorney’s Office in Maryland, which was responsible for a series of online gambling company domain seizures last May, had been probing Bodog and the company’s colorful founder, Calvin Ayre, since 2003.
Maryland US Attorney Wraps Up Investigation Into Bodog.com: Seizes Domain
The Maryland US Attorney’s has concluded its years long investigation into Bodog.com with the seizure of its domain name. Rumors have been swirling for months that former executives from the company were to be indicted. A press release was expected from the agency on Tuesday.
PokerStars Introduces Zoom Poker to Fill Void Left by Rush Poker
Following Full Tilt Poker’s shut down last year, its Rush Poker product vanished as well. Now PokerStars is stepping up to the plate with its own fast-paced game, Zoom Poker.
Presently, the Zoom Poker product is only available for play money.
Zoom Poker player can see an average of 200 hands per hour with a “fast fold” option.
So far players have been able to join 4 playerpools at once with the average actually recorded at between 200 and 280 hands/hour.
Matt Glantz: ‘Inevitable That Bernard Tapie Will be Backing Out (of Full Tilt Poker Deal)
Poker pro Matt Glantz provided his gloomy assessment of the future of Full Tilt Poker and those supposed white knights out of France, Groupe Bernard Tapie.
“Unfortunately, I feel based on their recent actions, I believe it is inevitable that Tapie will be backing out. It looks to me that for whatever reason, they have no real interest in acquiring FTP. The reasons why they are hanging around giving the illusion that they are still interested are unclear.”
Another Bitter Divorce for Steve Wynn: Okada Ousted
(Associated Press) - Billionaire Steve Wynn stepped up the feud with his former business partner Kazuo Okada on Friday by removing the Japanese tycoon from the board of his Macau casino company.
Wynn Macau's board voted to remove Okada following allegations he made improper payments to Asian gambling regulators, a violation of U.S. anti-corruption laws.
Wynn Macau said its board "resolved" to remove Okada as a non-executive director immediately because it was in the "best interests" of the company.
William Hill Eyes US Entry
William Hill on Friday announced its expansion plans, and they include the lucrative US market.
"Nevada is a land-based opportunity and we will see what happens in the US thereafter. But we first of all have to get these licenses and we expect that to happen some time this year," Hill CEO Ralph Topping said.
Bally Technologies to Enter US Online Poker Industry: Acquires Chili Poker Platform
Bally Technologies announced Thursday it had acquired the popular Chili Poker software platform, giving it a major edge as online poker becomes legalized in the US during the next couple of months.
The transaction, however, does not mean Bally wants to launch it own Internet gaming website, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
US-Facing Online Poker Room Enjoys Accolades for ‘Fastest Payouts’: Sees Massive Growth
You’ve come a long way Baby! Americas Cardroom back in its heyday was considered the red-headed step child in a field of far more advanced online poker rooms like PokerStars and PartyPoker. Today, not only has the software vastly improved, so too have the promotions, the customer service and the all-important payouts. In fact, Americas Cardroom is being praised as offering the “fastest payouts” of any US-facing online poker room today.
Tribal Gaming Network Begins Offering Legalized Real Money Internet Poker in US
Nevada-based Atlantis Internet Group Corp. announced Wednesday it has launched the first form of legal Intranet gaming within the United States. Intranet means “local or restricted communications network”.
Steve Wynn Wins $7.5 Million Defamation Suit Against Joe Francis
It’s been an ugly back and forth battle but casino magnate Steve Wynn has come out on top in a very big way, winning his $7.5 million defamation lawsuit against “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis.
The suit was filed following Francis’ proclamation that Wynn “deceived his high-end customers”.
MGM CEO: “Very Confident” Online Gambling Laws Would Pass on the Federal Level
Appearing on CNBC Wednesday evening, MGM CEO Jim Murren said he was “very confident” online gambling laws would pass on the federal level soon.
Murren added that, if such legislation fails to pass on the federal level, we will likely see the industry develop on a state-by-state basis.
MGM has teamed up with the largest real money online gambling company, bwin.party. Murren admitted that bwin.party might have to enter the US market at the state level first.
Wall Street Hedge Fund Manager Bets Against Online Poker Legislation in 2012
Managing member at KIF Capital Management, Ken Frankel, laughed off the idea that so many in the Internet poker community believed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would come through as a white knight last week.
From Business Insider:
Online Gambling Affiliate Leader Honored by Obama
Warren Jolly, Head of Affiliate Media, was one of several honored by US President Barack Obama on Monday for his achievements as a young entrepreneur. Jolly was one of the pioneers in the online gambling affiliate realm.
Peter Eastgate Signs on With Betfair Poker
2008 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Peter Eastgate has signed on to represent Team Betfair Poker.
The popular Danish player, who was last seen jumping off a bridge into a frigid canal after losing a $6000 prop bet, hasn’t exactly had the greatest impact on the live poker circuit of late. He only won $14,345 in 2011. In late 2010, Eastgate retired from poker, only to return a few months later (February to be exact).
Eastgate issued this statement at the time of his return:
Question of the Day: Why Can’t Everleaf Send US Players Funds Via Western Union?
It’s been a few weeks since the small – and some say struggling – online poker network Everleaf Gaming shut out its US customer base without any warning. Players looking for their funds are being redirected to the new “provisions” page, which simply states US players are no longer able to play online poker at Everleaf.
Nine of Top Ten Online Poker Rooms See Drop Off in Traffic
The second straight week of declines occurred with a 3 percent drop off in traffic for online poker rooms. Some of this could be attributed to the extended President’s Day weekend holiday in the US.
PokerScout.com also noted that Everleaf’s pullout from the US market only resulted in a 16 percent drop in overall traffic. They noted that the network’s reliance on the US market was much less than had been previously believed.
Top 20 Movers
WagerWeb.com Online Sportsbook, Casino Joins the Gambling911.com Family
Gambling911.com is thrilled to announce the return of WagerWeb.com to its portfolio of fine online sportsbooks just in time for March Madness.
Cake Poker Announces Major Software Upgrade
Cake Poker, one of the leading online poker networks, has announced a major new software upgrade.
The update to its 2.0 client will feature improvements in speed, stability, navigation and graphics.
Jamie Gold Poker Room Opens at the Tropicana
2006 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jamie Gold kicked off the opening of the Tropicana poker room, which is named after him, Friday February 17, 2012.
Patrik Antonius Coming to PartyPoker….Sort of
Finnish poker pro Patrik Antonius may be on his way to finding a new home…if only for a brief moment.
Following the shutdown of Full Tilt Poker late last year, Antonius and over a dozen other poker pros have been left without promotional deals.
Ladbrokes Punters Bet £13 billion in 2011: Poker Revenues Down 25 Percent
Ladbrokes reported strong returns for 2011 with punters staking £13 billion in 2011 and profit per shot increased 6.9 percent over 2010.
Gaming machines drew almost £10.5 billion, up 13.7% on a year earlier while over-the-counter betting enjoyed £2.5 billion in bets placed.
Zynga Stocks Fall After 4th Quarter Disappointment
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors sold off shares of Zynga on Wednesday after the company behind the most popular Facebook games fell shy of high expectations for its first earnings report as a publicly traded company.
Zynga Inc. of "FarmVille" and "CastleVille" fame reported better fourth-quarter results than what Wall Street was expecting, at least according to the average estimate compiled by FactSet. But Barclays analyst Mark May said the results fell short of some recent, more bullish expectations.
